Labor Relations Manager

• Foster an environment of diversity, equity and inclusion. We strive to hire, cultivate and retain a competitive workforce that reflects the communities we serve.
• Encourage a healthy life/work balance by offering flexible/alternative work schedules, wellness program, mobile arrangements and telework opportunities.
• Employees (and their families) have coverage options for medical, dental, vision and basic life insurance.
• Opportunity to enroll in state retirement programs and a deferred compensation plan.
• A minimum of 14 days of vacation leave per year and 12 paid holidays throughout the calendar year.
• OFM offers a commute trip reduction program, tuition reimbursement, membership to statewide Business Resource Groups and an Infants-at-Work program.

What you’ll do:

• Oversee negotiation activities operations and the lead negotiator responsible for collective bargaining and negotiating agreements with labor unions.
• Supervise performance of seven labor negotiators who bargain over 30 unique collective bargaining agreements who bind OFM and other state agencies in contracts or agreements that have significant financial liabilities.
• Drive continuous improvement by developing and implementing systems and process improvements that optimize all phases of the collective bargaining process.
• Meet with negotiations staff regularly to assess workload and standards, provide coaching, and mentoring, and performance management.
• May perform as a lead negotiator assigned to one or more bargaining tables and responsible to provide labor relations expertise to agency/institution client assignments.
• Partner with the Labor Relations Planning and Strategy Advisor to develop and administer statewide labor relations strategies.
• Organize and facilitate the Labor Relations Roundtable meetings.
• Provide briefing paper assistance during successor and mid-term bargaining.

Required:

• 
  Five (5) years professional level labor relations experience.
• Three (3) years professional labor negotiations experience that includes at least two (2) years serving as a lead negotiator. This should include demonstrated ability to formulate and articulate labor relations principles and negotiating strategies, including the role of the union and their business interests and goals.
• Demonstrated experience effectively managing or leading teams by using influence, collaboration, developing teamwork and demonstrating effective people interaction skills (not via command & control or hierarchy). This does not need to be a formal supervisor role but could be obtained through leading informal teams or volunteer work.
• Demonstrated ability to build healthy working relationships with labor organizations as well as internal teams or groups (this may be determined through a reference check process).
• Demonstrated ability to research, interpret, and understand RCWs and their implementing WACs.
• Demonstrated knowledge of the state legislative process to include bill analysis.
• Demonstrated knowledge and ability to work within a governmental authorizing environment related to collective bargaining implementation and statewide accounting principles related to employees (SAAM, travel, pay checks, etc).
• Proficient in common computer applications and ability to manage collective bargaining proposal development and use of legislative track changes in MS Word.

• Knowledge of WA State Government budget and operations.
• Knowledge of WA State Government Human Resources best practices.
• Knowledge of personnel and practices of public employee labor organizations in WA state.
• Interest arbitration experience.

• Gov. Jay Inslee’s Directive 22-13.1 state employees must be fully vaccinated effective Nov. 4, 2022. Providing proof of being fully vaccinated is a condition of employment and we will need to verify your vaccine status before you start work. Being fully vaccinated means two weeks after you have received the second dose in a two-dose series of a COVID-19 vaccine, or a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use, licensed or otherwise authorized or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or listed for emergency use or otherwise approved by the World Health Organization. Please reach out to the HR Office if you need information on medical or religious accommodation.

How to apply:
Interested? We would love to hear from you. Click “Apply” at the top of this page to start your application (you can save the application and come back to it, if needed).

To be considered for this position, please include the following along with your application:

• 
  Letter of interest: describing your specific qualifications.
• Resume: that details your applicable experience and education.
• References: at least three professional references with current telephone numbers.